World
Middle East
‘Kosher electricity’ coming to power up the Sabbath
Many ultra-Orthodox families go dark from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. A few rely on solar panels to stay connected without breaking the rules.
- by Steve Hendrix
Latest
Once a pariah, Bashar al-Assad now welcomed back in Arab fold
Syria had been suspended from the Arab League since the president reacted to nationwide protests in 2011 with a crackdown that turned into a 12-year civil war.
- by Aidan Lewis and Sarah El Safty
Right-wing Israelis come out in force to support plan to overhaul courts
They say the changes are necessary to give more power to voters and their elected representatives and to curb the authority of an unelected judiciary.
- by Isabel Kershner
Syria furious at EU claims Assad family involved in drug trafficking
The EU has imposed sanctions on several Syrians, including members of Assad’s family, blaming them for the production and trafficking of narcotics.
US chopper raid in Syria kills IS boss who planned ‘attacks in Europe’
US Central Command said the raid was launched after intelligence uncovered a plan by IS to “kidnap officials abroad as leverage for [IS] initiatives”.
Iran resorts to new tactics to enforce mandatory hijab for women
After installing cameras on highways to catch those breaking the law, Iranian authorities plan to prosecute people who encourage women to remove their headscarves.
- by Miriam Berger
‘We will save our country’: Erdogan launches re-election campaign
The Turkish president’s aggressive interest rate cuts sent inflation to a 24-year peak above 85 per cent in October. It’s currently at 50.5 per cent.
- by Ece Toksabay and Ebru Tuncay
‘We’re here to stay’: Defiant settlers, hardline ministers march to West Bank outpost
The march to Eviatar, an unauthorised outpost evacuated by the previous Israeli government in 2021, was led by ultranationalist Jewish settlers, among them cabinet ministers.
- by Ilan Ben Zion
Updated
World politics
US scrambles to find source of highly classified intel leak
Some Western security experts and US officials say they suspected it could be someone from the United States.
- by Idrees Ali
Iran installs public cameras to identify unveiled women
A growing number of Iranian women have been ditching their veils since the death of a 22-year-old woman while in the custody of the morality police last September.
Tourists killed and injured in Tel Aviv car attack as violence rises
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered all reserve border police and additional defence soldiers to mobilise.
- by Rami Amichay